א Alas!The Sovereign out of wrathHas shamedashamed Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Fair Zion,Has cast down from heaven to earthThe majesty of Israel.God’s FootstoolbGod’s Footstool I.e., the temple. was not rememberedOn this day of wrath.
ב The Sovereign has laid waste without pityAll the habitations of Jacob—Has razed in angerFair Judah’s strongholds,Bringing low in dishonorThe kingdom and its leaders.
ג In blazing anger [God] has cut downAll the might of Israel—Withdrawing vital supportcvital support Lit. “His right hand.” In the presence of the foe,And ravaging Jacob like flaming fire,Consuming on all sides.
ד [God] bent the bow like an enemy,Poised the right hand like a foe,And slew all who delighted the eye.God’s wrath was poured out like fireIn the Tent of Fair Zion.
ה The Sovereign has acted like a foe—Laying waste Israel,Laying waste all her citadels,Destroying her strongholds,Increasing within Fair JudahMourning and moaning.
ו God’s BoothdGod’s Booth I.e., the temple. has been stripped like a garden,And the Tabernacle, destroyed;eTabernacle Lit. “(Tent of) Meeting.”
GOD
has ended in ZionFestival and sabbath;And in raging anger has spurnedKing and priest.
ז The Sovereign has rejected the altar,Disdained the Sanctuary,Handing over to the foeThe walls of its citadels;They raised a shout in the House of GOD As on a festival day.
ח GOD resolved to destroyThe wall of Fair Zion—Measuring it with a line,fMeasuring it with a line I.e., making plans. refraining notFrom bringing destruction.Wall and rampart have been made to mourn,Together they languish.
ט Her gates have sunk into the ground,Her bars have been smashed to bits;Her king and her leaders are in exile,gin exile Lit. “among the nations.” InstructionhInstruction Heb. torah, here priestly instruction; cf. Jer. 18.18; Hag. 2.11; Mal. 2.6. is no more;Her prophets, too, receiveNo vision from GOD.
י Silent sit on the groundThe elders of Fair Zion;They have strewn dust on their headsAnd girded themselves with sackcloth;The maidens of Jerusalem have bowedTheir heads to the ground.
כ My eyes are spent with tears,My heart is in tumult,My being melts awayiMy being melts away Lit. “My liver spills on the ground.” Over the ruin of my poor people,jmy poor people Lit. “the daughter of my people”; so elsewhere in poetry. As babes and sucklings languishIn the squares of the city.
ל They keep asking their mothers,“Where is bread and wine?”As they languish like battle-woundedIn the squares of the town,As their life runs outIn their mothers’ bosoms.
מ What can I take as witnessktake as witness Emendation yields “compare.” or likenTo you, O Fair Jerusalem?What can I match with you to console you,O Fair Maiden Zion?For your ruin is vast as the sea:Who can heal you?
נ Your seers prophesied to youDelusion and folly.They did not expose your iniquitySo as to restore your fortunes,But prophesied to you oraclesOf delusion and deception.
ס All who pass your wayClap their hands at you;They hiss and wag their headlhiss and wag their head Gestures intended to ward off the calamity from the viewer; cf., e.g., Jer. 18.16 and note; Job 27.23. At Fair Jerusalem:“Is this the city that was calledPerfect in Beauty,Joy of All the Earth?”
פ All your enemiesJeer at you;They hiss and gnash their teeth,And cry: “We’ve ruined her!Ah, this is the day we hoped for;We have lived to see it!”mWe have lived to see it Lit. “We have attained, we have seen.”
ע GOD has done what was purposed,Carrying out the decreeThat had been ordained long ago,And tearing down without pity.[God] has let the foe rejoice over you,Has exalted the might of your enemies.
צ Their heart cried outnTheir heart cried out Emendation yields “Cry aloud.” to the Sovereign.O wall of Fair Zion,Shed tears like a torrentDay and night!Give yourself no respite,Your eyes no rest.
ק Arise, cry out in the nightAt the beginning of the watches,Pour out your heart like waterIn the presence of the Sovereign!Lift up your hands to [God]For the life of your infants,Who faint for hungerAt every street corner.
ר oA plea by Zion personified. “See, O ETERNAL One, and behold,To whom You have done this!Alas, women eat their own fruit,Their newbornpnewborn The root has this meaning in Arabic; in contrast to others “dandled.” babes!Alas, priest and prophet are slainIn the Sanctuary of the Sovereign!
ש Prostrate in the streets lieBoth young and old.My maidens and youthsAre fallen by the sword;You slew them on Your day of wrath,You slaughtered without pity.
ת You summoned, as on a festival,My neighbors from round about.On the day of GOD’s wrath,None survived or escaped;Those whom I boreqbore See note at 2.20. and rearedMy foe has consumed.”